Amazon today unveiled a new Kindle Fire lineup, which includes a revamped version of the original tablet, as well as 7-inch and 8.9-inch versions of the new Kindle Fire HD.

Amazon will drop the price of the original Kindle Fire tablet to $159. It will offer a 16GB version of the 7-inch Kindle Fire HD for $199 and a 16GB, 8.9-inch version for $299. But the retailer will also sell a 32GB Kindle Fire HD with 4G LTE connectivity for $499.

The original, 7-inch Kindle Fire received an upgraded processor that is 20 percent faster than its predecessor, as well as double the RAM for 40 percent faster performance and longer battery life, said Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. The $159 tablet will start shipping Sept. 14.

The larger, 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD, meanwhile, boasts a 1,920-by-1,200 IPS display with 254 pixels per inch. There's also an HD front-facing camera, HDMI out, and Bluetooth. It will run a TI OMAP4470 processor. The smaller, 7-inch Kindle Fire HD has similar specs, save for the display size.

Those who spring for the 4G LTE version of the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD will pay $49.99 per year for 250MB of monthly data, 20GB of cloud storage, and a $10 Amazon Appstore credit.

Kindle Fire HD Features
Bezos talked up the polarizing filter on the Kindle Fire HD, as well as a laminated touch sensor that prevents air gaps and produces 25 percent less glare and a sharper contrast.

The device includes two Wi-Fi antennas; if your hand obscures one antenna, the other one can take over. The 2.4-GHz band has been around 15 years and it's gotten unbelievably crowded, Bezos said, so the Kindle Fire HD taps into a second band, 5 GHz. Bezos compared the Kindle Fire HD to the new iPad and Nexus 7; the iPad 3 is dual band but only has one antenna; the Nexus 7 is single band.

One of the features coming to the Kindle Fire HD includes X-Ray for movies; tap on the screen for details about those on the screen. Users will also be able to incorporate audio books thanks to a deal with Audible; listen to a book and follow along on the screen with bi-modal reading.

Bezos also announced Whispersync for Games, which stores all unlocked levels in the Amazon cloud so you can pick up where you left off on another device. There will also be custom apps from Facebook and Skype, which will take advantage of that front-facing camera.

For those who will be letting their kids use the Kindle Fire HD, the device includes various profiles for children, as well as a screen that glows blue during FreeTime mode so parents can keep tabs on tablet activity even across the room.

Bezos argued that Android tablets are floundering because they're gadgets and people don't want gadgets; "they want services," he said. Naturally, Bezos considers the Kindle Fire to be a service. It greets you by name, comes with pre-loaded content, makes recommendations, and stores everything in the cloud, he said. Still, "hardware is a critical part of [that] service," Bezos continued.

Chloe Albanesius has been with PCMag.com since April 2007, most recently as Executive Editor for News and Features. Prior to that, she worked for a year covering financial IT on Wall Street for Incisive Media. From 2002 to 2005, Chloe covered technology policy for The National Journal's Technology Daily in Washington, DC. She has held internships at NBC's Meet the Press, washingtonpost.com, the Tate Gallery press office in London, Roll Call, and Congressional Quarterly. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism from American University...
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